§ 20.30A.070. Development standards.

1.

Minimum Lot Size. None, subject to compliance with applicable standards for sewage disposal and provision of water contained in Articles III and IV of the Thurston County Sanitary Code;

2.

Setbacks. Setbacks from the exterior boundary of the site shall be the same as required in the underlying district. All other setback requirements shall be waived to allow flexibility in site design. However:

a.

Individual buildings shall be separated by a minimum of ten feet, and

b.

The hearing examiner or administrator may establish setbacks not to exceed one hundred fifty feet, as necessary to buffer agricultural or forestry activities from residential ues;

3.

Maximum Coverage by Individual lots within a PRRD are exempt from building and hard surface coverage limits established for the underlying zone, however, the PRRD as a whole, including streets, access ways and other paved surfaces and development of the site shall not exceed the percentage permitted by the underlying zone.

4.

Maximum Building Height. Same as underlying district;

5.

Subdivision Design—Resource Use Parcel.

a.

Any prime agricultural soils (as identified in the Soil Survey of Thurston County) and Washington State Private Forest Land Grade 2 present within the proposed subdivision shall be contained within the resource use parcel unless the applicant demonstrates that:

i.

The allowable density cannot be accommodated elsewhere within the proposed subdivision; or

ii.

Within the rural residential/resource—1/5 district:

(A)

The size of the potential resource use parcel is not sufficient to sustain an economically viable resource use, or

(B)

The resource use is not compatible with surrounding land uses.

b.

In order to retain large, undivided parcels of land that provide opportunities to compatible agricultural and forestry uses and protection of sensitive environmental resources, the resource use parcel shall, to the greatest extent possible, be a single contiguous parcel and shaped so as to be usable for resource uses. Where the resource use parcel is intended for other uses, more flexibility is allowed in the shape of the parcel; however, the resource use parcel may not be narrow strips or small interspersed parcel within the residential cluster(s).

c.

Resource use parcels that are used for agriculture, forestry or sensitive resource protection shall not be bisected by roads or easements where the physical conditions of the site would allow otherwise.

d.

Where consistent with other provisions of this chapter, the resource use parcel shall be contiguous with any abutting resource use parcel, open space, greenbelt, agricultural lands, commercial forestry lands, public preserves, parks, or schools. Wildlife corridors shall be linked with other wildlife corridors abutting the proposed subdivision.

e.

The subdivision shall be designed, to the extent consistent with other provisions of this chapter, to maximize the visibility of the resource use parcel and open space areas from adjoining collector roads, arterials, or state highways.

f.

Native vegetation shall be retained in the resource use parcel to the extent that it is compatible with the intended use of the parcel and does not pose a risk to public safety.

g.

Any single-family residence and accessory uses within the resource use parcel shall be sited to maximize resource opportunities on the remainder of the parcel.

6.

Subdivision Design—Residential Lots.

a.

The configuration and size lots shall be varied and blend with the natural features of the site in order to retain the natural, rural character of the site, particularly as viewed from public roadways.

b.

Windfirm trees shall be retained where they would screen residences from collector roads, arterials or state highways, unless they would unduly impede site development, be incompatible with the intended use of the resource use parcel, or pose a risk to public safety for motorists on those roadways and to private utilities.

c.

A lot created for any existing residence on the propery may be discontiguous from the remaining residential lots in the proposed subdivision.

d.

Residential lots shall be grouped and not assembled in a linear configuration. A linear configuration refers to a site design for the residential portion of a development which may be described as long and narrow. Exceptions shall be granted at the discretion of the approval authority where unusual site conditions, such as wetlands, steep slopes, shorelines, or very narrow lots, warrant a linear configuration.

Explanatory note: The reasons for minimizing linear configurations are to promote the integrity of the resource use parcel by minimizing the extent of the residential cluster boundary or edge effect, and to retain the natural, rural character of the site, particularly as viewed from public roadways. Both farmers and foresters have long maintained that proximity of residences to their operations is one of the biggest threats to the continued viability of those industries in Thurston County. Impacts to critical areas are also reduced by minimizing residential boundary area.

(Ord. 11539 § 4, 1997: Ord. 11398 § 3 (part), 1997: Ord. 11025 § 20, 1995: Ord. 10398 § 14 (part), 1993)

(Ord. No. 14524, § 12, 6-7-2011; Ord. No. 15355, 1(Att. A, § MM), 10-18-2016)